Flames at Senators
The Calgary Flames hope to put together a winning streak following an 0-3-1 slide and move closer to a playoff berth in the Western Conference when they conclude their three-game road trip Friday against the Ottawa Senators. Calgary halted its skid with Wednesday's 5-1 triumph in Buffalo and is involved in a tight battle for the second wild-card spot, as well as second and third place in the Pacific Division.
Sean Monahan was one of four members of the Flames to record a goal and an assist against the Sabres, ending his four-game point drought, and is one tally shy of matching the career high of 31 he set in 2014-15. Ottawa squandered a pair of one-goal leads Thursday and went on to suffer a 4-3 loss to Buffalo in a shootout. The Senators are just two points ahead of the Sabres, who occupy the basement in the Eastern Conference, but have two games in hand. Captain Erik Karlsson notched an assist in the setback, giving him eight points over his last five games, and has not gone more than one contest without a point since Feb. 3 and 4.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), TSN5, RDS (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (33-25-10): Johnny Gaudreau notched a pair of assists on Wednesday in what was his 300th NHL game to increase his team-leading point total to 76. The 24-year-old left wing, who has been an All-Star in each of his first four full seasons in the league, needs two points to match the career high he set in 2015-16. Matthew Tkachuk has been kept off the scoresheet in each of his last two games, keeping him three points shy of 100 for his career.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (23-32-11): Ryan Dzingel registered his third two-goal performance of the campaign on Thursday, leaving him one tally shy of his first career 20-goal season. The 26-year-old left wing is one goal behind team leader Mark Stone, who notched an assist against the Sabres to extend his point streak to 10 games. The 25-year-old Stone has collected two goals and 13 assists during his run and is two points away from tying the career high of 64 he set in 2014-15.
OVERTIME
1. Monahan leads the league with 11 game-winning goals - two more than his total from the previous two seasons.
2. Ottawa RW Bobby Ryan is one point shy of 500 for his career while LW Magnus Paajarvi ended his eight-game drought Thursday with his 100th NHL point (assist).
3. Calgary RW Michael Frolik needs three assists to reach 200 in the NHL.